Bearing Witness

I often hear people toss around the idea that we don't need to go out and evangelise, because we are supposed to be witnesses in the way we live our lives. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't really think the beauty and glory of the gospel shines through the way I live my life, and I know in some instances my life is more likely to drive people away....

I saw this happen today at work, and it made me so sad....

A customer came in, wanting an item in an unusual quantity, which we were unable to produce. We apologised and offered her some alternative options, to which her response was "You people are hopeless. Why can't you just give me what I asked for? Every other place has managed to." The assistant serving her, myself and the pharmacist were a little taken aback at the rudeness.

Then the woman continues to talk at the assistant as she fixes up her purchases, and the customer says "When I was at church this morning..." After the customer had left, the pharmacist turns to the other assistant and myself and says "Wonderful Christian spirit there, eh?"

Paul says we are Christ's ambassadors to the world. We are sent with the message of the gospel, representing God. But does our behaviour, particularly to those who are serving us, reflect the true spirit of Christ? Are we holding up the reputation of Christ or bringing it into disrepute? Just some food for thought, that made me think about my own behaviour and speech.

Don't Want To...

WASTE MY LIFE.

I've just finished reading John Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life", and it has been echoing a lot of the things I have been learning from other areas - my own Bible reading, church and even some conversations with friends.

I don't have a specific path that I know I am being called to as yet. But I think one of the things God has been telling me over and over at this stage of my life and education is not to get fixed on one job or area as 'the one'. Be open to being used by him in ways that will surprise even you. Because ultimately, it isn't so much what you do that matters - it's why you are doing it and who you are serving by it. And though it seems hard to grasp, I am going to have infinitely more joy if I invest my life in serving God and serving others, than in following anything for me-centric reasons.

Wherever I go, whatever I do, all I know is I want to be reflecting Christ, being content in Christ, bringing glory to Christ and loving Christ above all else. That will not be a wasted life.

Way to go, Sydney!

This week The Resurgence - one of the ministries of Mark Driscoll and co. from Mars Hill Church in Seattle - published the stats on who uses their site, which focuses on equipping people for ministry in reaching their cities, in a culturally relevant AND Biblically faithful way. And guess what? Sydney-siders were the second biggest users of the site, topped only by Seattle - the home of Mars Hill Church. We came in ahead of London (double the population) and New York (five times the population)! Not that statistics are the most important thing, but this is really encouraging to me...

Around 10 months ago, Mark Driscoll came to Australia and gave a talk called "Burn Your Plastic Jesus". Amongst all the great stuff he said, there was one comment that really stuck with me. Mark was complimenting Sydney on its beautiful harbour and parklands, and he said something along the lines of "But you know, this is the problem. You guys know you have it so good, and you think, this is Heaven, this is all there is." (I think he phrased it much better than that but that was the general idea.) And that really struck a nerve, because it is so true! Sydney (and Australia in general for that matter - I'm a Melbourne girl by birth) is a really great place to live - as much as we complain about it, we do have great health care, education, food and so on, and a beautiful country to boot. And we think, it can't get any better than this. But it can, cause none of it means anything unless God is in the centre of the picture.

And though Mark was mostly talking about non-Christians, I think Christians can be equally guilty of this: "Oh, we have a great country, we have free of religion and the right to meet as a church free from persecution." But that's not what God calls us to, to just happily meet together and 'do church' and that's it. We are commissioned to go out and reach our cities and ultimately the world. And seeing the number of Sydney-siders (over 15,000!) visiting a site like The Resurgence last year gives me hope that as a Christian community, we are catching on to that vision, to reach our whole city and beyond.

You're the God of this city, you're the King of this people, you're
the Lord of this nation, you are - Chris
Tomlin

It’s a good day.

[I wrote this over a week ago now, but it's still true...]

As humans, we can be incredibly fickle. Or at least I can… I shouldn’t really speak on behalf of the entire human populace. But I’m fairly certain I’m not the only one.

I just had an amazing day. I was invited by my campus Christian group to go to another uni campus in my city to help out with their Orientation Week, as it is one of the biggest weeks for evangelism in uni ministry all year. And we saw God do amazing things! Almost one in four students we approached wanted to be followed up either to learn more about Christianity or to join a Bible study group. I even got a contact of a girl from my own uni, who was just checking out the festivities with her friends from the other uni. God was so good to us, and really used the team of students powerfully.

And then when I got home, I found my uni had made a paper work error and not given me my travel concession for the year – without which I cannot afford to travel to uni each day. All the jubilation I felt about what I had seen God do earlier went out the window, and was quickly replaced by irritation and discontent.

And that is what I wonder about? Why do I fall into unhappiness so easily? Is the God who made our outreach such a success also God over the admin at my uni? Can He not use this for good and for His renown? Not doubting God when things don’t turn out my way will be a challenge I think, but one that must be faced.

Waiting for the World to Fall

I feel like I am trapped in a period of waiting - the calm before the storm. There is so much about to happen in my life, and there's only so much I can do to prepare for it. I am waiting for:

• my best friend to come home for overseas. I miss her incredibly, and if it wasn't ridiculously expensive, I would be on the phone right now telling her that. There is a lot going on at the moment, and it will be strange not to have her there beside me.
• university classes to resume. We are all get used to patterns and rules and working within them. I have had a whole summer of freedom, and soon I will be back to the routine of classes. Part of me is glad to be returning to the familiar comfort of routine, knowing what each day will hold, while another part mourns losing the chance to do what I like, whenever I like.
• campus ministry to start up. I am planning to be very involved in the Christian movement at my campus this year and I can't wait to see how God draws new students in and uses the students currently involved to spread the gospel on campus.
• my graduation. I know this is a long way off, but I am very much aware that this is my last year of tertiary studies. I'm not sure what direction God has planned for me once I graduate, but I am excited to find out.

Waiting is such a strange feeling. It's mixture of nervousness and excitement and sometimes a touch of fear. But waiting can be difficult. A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I had a five hour wait at the airport for our flight home. But we got so caught up in distracting ourselves from the long wait, we almost missed our flight, even though we'd been sitting in the airport for 5 hours!

Waiting is hard, but there's also a purpose in it. It might be that more preparation is needed or you're just not ready. But there is a season for everything, and that includes waiting.

And I say thank you...

God provides.

For the last couple of weeks now, I have been preparing for a mission trip to a coastal town, where we minister to school leavers who are at the beach to party. Part of this preparation is raising the funds to go, by asking those around us to support our ministry. I don't know if anyone else has had to raise money before, but asking people for money is scary. Particularly if you're naturally fairly guarded with money, like me.

And as one does, when you're scared about something and you're busy with other things - like exam study and honours applications - you try and push these things back as long as possible. And then you realise that the longer you put them off, the worse it gets.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally worked (and prayed) up the courage to approach my church for money. I'm fairly new there, not known to many in the congregation, so I thought a few friends and acquaintances might give me something, but had no idea where the rest was going to come from. Kit of little faith! I turn up to church and am greeted by people who don't even know me, but have heard about the mission trip, and want to support me, and walk out of the church at the end of service, holding almost the full amount, with promises from a couple more who don't have cash on them to give me money later.

I got home and went to my room, and for the first 10 minutes, all I could do was fall on my knees and laugh and cry at the same time, with two words the only ones I could speak. Thank you.

An answer to prayer....

You know those days were to quote my emo friend Avril "Nothing's going right/And everything's a mess"... I've been having one of those for the past couple of days.

I'm applying to add Honours to my degree, and the form is due tomorrow. In the stress of everything that is going on, I kept pushing back the fact that I needed to meet with my potential academic supervisor beforehand, to make sure I am a suitable candidate. So, with only four days to go, I email her, asking for a meeting, knowing that she is busy running exams... For two days I hear nothing and I begin to despair.

Meanwhile, I am currently trying to raise support for the short term mission trip I am about to embark on in just over a week. I still have almost $1000 to raise, and am getting only silence on all fronts.

And finally, last night, I do what I should have done in the first place. I pray. I apologise to God for trying to do it all myself, and I remember that if these things are in His will, He will see them done.

And so I sleep. And this morning, I receive two emails. One from the academic supervisor, telling me I can meet her tomorrow morning, and one from my church, telling me several people are willing to support me. Maybe not the full amount, but they will support me nonetheless.

PRAY.

I'm With You

"Isn't anyone tryin' to find me? Won't somebody come take me home? Cause
it's a damn cold night, tryin' to figure out this life. Why won't you take me by
the hand, take me somewhere new. I don't know who you are, but I, I'm with you."
I'm With You, Avril Lavigne

I don't think the song has a lot to do with whats on my mind, but it was one of my favourite songs a few years ago, and so I thought it was worth a mention. What I have been hit with tonight - not literally, obviously and thankfully as I bruise easily - is the fact that Christ is ALWAYS with us.

He even says it, at the end of the Great Commission. On campus, we get very excited about the Creat Commission, and we refer to it a lot, and so I assume I know it, and my eyes begin to glaze over when I hear it again. But today I actually heard it, and I had a few thoughts.

I think we often ignore or forget the last part of it. "And surely I am with you aways, to the very ends of the age." It's hard, or at least for me. Know Jesus has authority -check. Go make disciples - check. Baptise and teach them - check. But believe that Jesus will always be there, walking beside you and carrying you through the tough times - that's a lot harder.

I have been given a new role in my ministry that is quite differnt from my last one, which was a an admin one. This new one is more a leadership role, and I still feel quite daunted about taking it on. But knowing that Jesus is walking with me each step of the way - that is is the truth I will have to learn to depend on. I need to learn, sort of like Avril, to be saying "I'm with you" to Jesus and trusting in God's faithfulness.

Honesty in Mentoring

I have had the privilege of being mentored (or discipled, the word we use on campus) by an wonderful older Christian, and have recently been given the responsibility of doing the same for another girl. Meeting up with her has been a great experience for me, not only in being able to pass on some of the things I have learnt, but in the amount she teaches me - or God teaches me through her.

Today was a great example. This was the first time we've met up since university has resumed after the winter break, and so I didn't plan a lesson, but instead decided we'd spend some time discussing how our holidays are, and then praying. (As an aside, I don't know if anyone else finds this, but holidays can be a really hard time for faith, as you're away from all the normal ministry activities...) I'd also giving her the homework of writing out her testimony over the holidays, and we talked about that.

But my revelation came right at the end. We were discussing some things to pray about before we parted, and the usual things came up - balancing uni with life, praise for a good start to the semester, as well as praying for a friend who is having a tough time at the moment, when I realized there was some problems - sin - in my own life, that I'd been struggling with that morning. After much hesitation, and some vague attempts at prevarication, I told this to the younger girl. Expecting to see a bit of disappointment or even judgement on her face, I was surprised by her response. "You struggle with that, too?" she said. "Kit, that's such a relief for me."

We haven't really covered this particular area before, and I hadn't known it was a problem for her either. Now, it will be something we can work on together, and hopefully keep each other accountable to. So I hope I have learnt my lesson, that it is vital that we be honest with our disciples, and let them know when we are struggling.

Unity

We had a great talk today at uni from the campus co-ordinator of the Christian group I attend, and I just wanted to share what I took away from it, even though I'm sure you've heard it before.

Following the hype of World Youth Day here in Sydney, our talk this week was "Catholic, Protestant, Christian?". We looked not at any one specific denominations, or any particular issue of contention between the denominations, or at any reasons to support one over the other, but thinking about what we all believe and how we all need to be coming back to the central truths Christ taught.

Although the talk covered things like how we should go about choosing what church (not what denomination) we should attend, what I really liked was the focus on unity. If people from different denominations who all believe Jesus is their Lord and Saviour can't get over the difference they practice what is often essentially religion rather than faith, what kind of witness is that to the world? Why should anyone be interested in any church who can't agree with the other churches around it? If we show disunity as Christians, people will focus on that hypocrisy, rather than on Christ.

Unity is one of the things I love about campus ministry. Several of the Christian groups on campus are non-denominational, and I think this is great. Not only do you get exposed to other teachings and sources of input that you may not know about through your own church, but you are able to acknowledge that in such a secular environment as a university, all the more superficial differences fade away in the face of presenting a united front as Christians. Today, I was sitting with two other girls - one attends a Catholic church, the other a Uniting church. I attend an Anglican church. I think it is great when we are reaching out to the campus, that not only are we showing unity, but we are a unified group, despite our different backgrounds.

Whatever you do?

I was really challenged last night on what I do each day and the way I use my time.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17)

I spend my week doing many things, some of which are dedicated to the glory of God, but much of which is not. I am not saying I go out and intentionally sin in this time, or at least I try not to. Rather, I tend to think of the time as being neutral, and as being my own.

But we are told "You are not your own; you were bought at a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And what a price it was. But what this means, is that my time is not my own, but rather, all God's, and everytime I go off to do my own thing, I'm stealing that time from Him. And I think we can all agree that theft is a crime, or a sin if you like.

God cares about everything we do, like the watchful parent of a young child. And we are commanded in Col. 3:17, that whatever we do is to be done in the name of Jesus. I'm not sure I want to place the beautiful name of Jesus up against all the deeds I do in my day. It doesn't give thanks to Jesus when I stand around doing nothing at work when I could be serving my patients and co-workers, or when I put off uni group assignments because I "have more important things to do" that I usually don't do anyway. Or when I lie in bed whining about the cold and refusing to get up. It's an enormous and scary challenge, but I want to be saying to myself, with each thing that I do, "How is this serving God and giving Him thanks and glory?"

Any thoughts, people?

A Fairy Story

This is an extract from Kate Douglas Wiggin's novel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. This is one of my favourite children's books, and I hope one day to read it to my own daughter (or son, but I tend to picture a daughter). While I love the whole book because of the beauty of the story and the charm of the characters, this 'story' written by Rebecca as her entry for her school essay contest touches my heart and my spirit. It's beautiful analogy of the earth bound princess having her burdens lifted by the command of "the King" (God) and her growing awareness of Him, and the joyful return of the "Fairy Godmother" (a servant of God - a believer) to His presence. When I go to God's presence, I hope that He will say to me that He heard me on the road to doing His work and be pleased.

A FAIRY STORY

There was once a tired and rather poverty-stricken Princess who dwelt in a cottage on the great highway between two cities. She was not as unhappy as thousands of others; indeed, she had much to be grateful for, but the life she lived and the work she did were full hard for one who was fashioned slenderly.

Now the cottage stood by the edge of a great green forest where the wind was always singing in the branches and the sunshine filtering through the leaves.

And one day when the Princess was sitting by the wayside quite spent by her labor in the fields, she saw a golden chariot rolling down the King's Highway, and in it a person who could be none other than somebody's Fairy Godmother on her way to the Court. The chariot halted at her door, and though the Princess had read of such beneficent personages, she never dreamed for an instant that one of them could ever alight at her cottage.

"If you are tired, poor little Princess, why do you not go into the cool green forest and rest?" asked the Fairy Godmother.
"Because I have no time," she answered.
"I must go back to my plough."
"Is that your plough leaning by the tree, and is it not too heavy?"
"It is heavy," answered the Princess, "but I love to turn the hard earth into soft furrows and know that I am making good soil wherein my seeds may grow. When I feel the weight too much, I try to think of the harvest."

The golden chariot passed on, and the two talked no more together that day; nevertheless the King's messengers were busy, for they whispered one word into the ear of the Fairy Godmother and another into the ear of the Princess, though so faintly that neither of them realized that the King had spoken.

The next morning a strong man knocked at the cottage door, and doffing his hat to the Princess said: "A golden chariot passed me yesterday,and one within it flung me a purse of ducats, saying: 'Go out into the King's Highway and search until you find a cottage and a heavy plough leaning against a tree near by. Enter and say to the Princess whom you will find there: "I will guide the plough and you must go and rest, or walk in the cool green forest; for this is the command of your Fairy Godmother." ' "

And the same thing happened every day, and every day the tired Princess walked in the green wood. Many times she caught the glitter of the chariot and ran into the Highway to give thanks to the Fairy Godmother; but she was never fleet enough to reach the spot. She could only stand with eager eyes and longing heart as the chariot passed by.Yet she never failed to catch a smile, and sometimes a word or two floated back to her, words that sounded like: "I would not be thanked.We are all children of the same King, and I am only his messenger."

Now as the Princess walked daily in the green forest, hearing the wind singing in the branches and seeing the sunlight filter through the lattice-work of green leaves, there came unto her thoughts that had lain asleep in the stifling air of the cottage and the weariness of guiding the plough. And by and by she took a needle from her girdle and pricked the thoughts on the leaves of the trees and sent them into the air to float hither and thither. And it came to pass that people began to pick them up, and holding them against the sun, to read what was written on them, and this was because the simple little words on the leaves were only, after all, a part of one of the King's messages, such as the Fairy Godmother dropped continually from her golden chariot.

But the miracle of the story lies deeper than all this.

Whenever the Princess pricked the words upon the leaves she added a thought of her Fairy Godmother, and folding it close within, sent the leaf out on the breeze to float hither and thither and fall where it would. And many other little Princesses felt the same impulse and did the same thing. And as nothing is ever lost in the King's Dominion, so these thoughts and wishes and hopes, being full of love and gratitude,had no power to die, but took unto themselves other shapes and lived on forever. They cannot be seen, our vision is too weak; nor heard,our hearing is too dull; but they can sometimes be felt, and we know not what force is stirring our hearts to nobler aims.

The end of the story is not come, but it may be that some day when the Fairy Godmother has a message to deliver in person straight to the King, he will say: "Your face I know; your voice, your thoughts, and your heart. I have heard the rumble of your chariot wheels on the great Highway, and I knew that you were on the King's business. Herein my hand is a sheaf of messages from every quarter of my kingdom.They were delivered by weary and footsore travelers, who said that they could never have reached the gate in safety had it not been for your help and inspiration. Read them, that you may know when and where and how you sped the King's service."

And when the Fairy Godmother reads them, it may be that sweet odors will rise from the pages, and half-forgotten memories will stir the air; but in the gladness of the moment nothing will be half so lovely as the voice of the King when he said: "Read, and know how you sped the King's service."

Rebecca Rowena Randall

Text copied from Project Gutenberg. You can read the whole book free there (or copy it to wherever you like), as this work is now out-of-copyright.